Straight Ahead: Keratin Hair Straightening, What You Need to Know

The time of colds, caps and damaged hairdos is approaching … Permanent keratin hair straightening can keep your hairdo neat and beautiful even in rainy and windy weather. But how long does the effect work and what do you need to know if you decided to go “straight ahead” to beautiful hair?

How does keratin work?

Hair is composed of 90% keratin – a protein, which is based on simple amino acids. When building a chain element it works to form a straight thread. In the formation of a large number of links the chain takes the form of a curl. The role of the additional compounds is played by disulfide bridges and hydrogen bonds. The basic principle of most straightening means is the destruction of these connections.

Why do people need keratin hair straightening?

Various producers complement their straightening means with different effects. Some nourish the hair, making it thick and shiny, others bring shine and softness, removing dryness and volume. It seems to be a stupid question! It is impossible for the hair, wavy by nature, to become smooth and keep its shape for a long period of time without additional styling and straightening methods. But this is not the only effect that the keratin straightening gives your hair. Thin, thick, damaged hair tends to get tangled while washing, or if you wear them loose. Straightened with the help of keratin hair is noticeably easier to comb after washing and they do not get tangledd during the day.

For whom is it suitable?

There are no contraindications for the procedure. Weak and dull hair, on the contrary, will become healthy. And hair that is in good condition will not deteriorate from keratin – but on the condition that the stylist will only use quality tools. The best products, as a rule, are the Brazilian brands. It is important to remember that good means it won’t be cheap.

How much is keratin hair straightening?

The price of the salon tratment ranges from $90 to $130, depending on the length and thickness of hair. Straightening of thick hair that extends to the shoulders may cost as much a long, but thin hair.

How long does it stay?

Manufacturers promise up to six months of perfectly straight hair. Straightening effect can indeed be held from 4 to 6 months, if you do the procedure … not for the first time. This is due to the cumulative effect of the composition in your hair. For the first time it is just 1-2 months, then the effect will gradually fade.

What treatments are possible on straightened hair?

Any kind of hair styling – after keratin straightening the hair will still curl in locks, if you want. Do not forget about the fixation, that’s the whole secret. But any kind of coloring and toning will be harmful. Firstly, after performing a keratin hair straightening the hair will be more difficult to color; the dye just does not penetrate into hair that has been treated with keratin. But at the same time the dye will try to penetrate into the hair structure and destroy the keratin layer, reducing the effect of the procedure. But already colored hair will benefit: it prevents the leaching of color.

How to care for hair after keratin straightening?

Professionals recommended using Daily Conditioner after keratin straightening. How strictly this recommendation is and what the difference of sulfate-free shampoos is – this is what Tatiana Sharkova, the owner of the salon “London”, Head of Schwarzkopf Professional technology services in Russia and stylist Alexander Schwarzkopf Professional Edelberg told us.

“For the keratin hair straightening, I went to the salon ” Place in the Sun “, the stylist was doing the procedure with the professional product, Marcia Teixeira. The feature of the Marcia brand is that it has four compositions for straightening (usually marks represent one means for straightening). The compositions are designed for different kinds of hair, from thin to strong curly African type. The most powerful composition must be worn for three days (and cannot stick to wet hair). My hair is wavy, but not curly. Nevertheless, they are thick and dense, a light composition wouldn’t work, so I picked up a third power-up, which, like the first two, is washed off on the day of the procedure.

Keratin hair straightening procedure takes place in five stages: washing and drying the hair, applying the composition, hair styling with a hair dryer, extra hair straightening with irons, removing the composition and final drying. It is terrible to say that I have spent 5 hours on it – that is how much time it took to perform the procedure on long and thick hair (get ready, lucky owners of a braid). ”

About the sensations:

“Immediately after the procedure the hair looks mirror smooth. In order not to spoil the effect, I could not wash my hair or pin up and tie my hair in the first days after the procedure. The hair still had the product on it, which finally went away after the first shampooing. ”

About wearing keratin:

“As specialists promise, hair, straightened with keratin, requires no additional straightening after washing. Inspired by this, I washed my hair for the first time after the procedure before going to bed and went to bed with wet hair. And yes, I changed my shampoo to non-sulfur. Keratin could not resist this crash test: in the morning hair lost its gloss and looked “battered”. But one of the promises keratin performs in all conditions, is that the hair is easy to comb and is less tangled!

One of the cons is the fat near the roots. Hair become dirty in half the time. And of course, after several times of washing the hair no longer looks as perfect as the first day after the procedure. To achieve the kind of salon results it still requires drying with a hairdryer and a hairbrush.

A month after the procedure, the hair starts to subtly return to its original state. After washing you can already notice a light wave. But styling with irons, which previously took a while, now goes twice as fast: the hair is soft and docile. The most pleasant bonus is easy combing after washing. “